This months the fish-a-long will be at Harriet Lake. This is a small impoundment on the Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River.

We will meet on Saturday morning about 8am in the main parking area. Coffee & donuts plus a sandwich lunch will be provided. There is a $5 fee per car for using the park so you may wish to look at carpooling with other members.

The lake is 22 acres and contains rainbow, cutthroat, and brown trout. There is a very long dock along the north bank but it is best fished from a floating devise such as a float tube. If you do not have a float tube the club now has a small fleet that you can use, so don’t use that as an excuse to not get out and fish!

The best fishing is at the top of the lake close to the inlet. It is probably best to use an intermediate lake line. As for flies a leach pattern works best….callibaetis nymph, seal bugger, woolly bugger, and chironomids fished sub surface with an indicator. As the lake has just been stocked a glo-bug colored dark with a felt pen looks a lot like a pellet. Below overhanging trees, ants will fall into the water and temp cruising trout.

The lake is due to be stocked with 3,000 legal size trout this week so fishing should be good. Also, along the way is the upper Clackamas River, which has trout and whitefish and the Oak Grove Fork is nearby too and has good numbers of cutthroat trout; these opportunities perfectly dovetail with the CFF Fly Fishing Challenge!

Last weekend I checked out several possible areas for our Fish-A-Long. Trillium is very beautiful but also extremely crowded on the weekends this time of year. The water was very low at Clear Lake and the restrooms needed some attention—yuck! Timothy Lake had potential but it was pretty crowded too so we will probably go there later in the year.

If you plan on coming please contact Dave Kilhefner or Paul Brewer so we know how much food to bring. Also, if you need a float tube we need to hear from you. All questions are welcome too!

This year’s new Fly Fishing Challenge is to Catch and Release three (3) different fish-types on a flyrod (using a wet or dry fly) of any local variety of a salmonid species
– or-
Complete the Y’17 Fly Fishing Challenge; Catch and release a salmonid from a river, a lake, and a creek.

Terms and conditions: No hold-over fish count from Y’17 and if you completed this last year you need to select the new 2018 FFC.

Awards Presented:

Certificate Award for the Fly Fishing Challenge, a Fly Fishing Challenge Patch for the first-time completion or a new recognition pin or patch for 2nd time completion.

End of year drawing for a $25 gift certificate for those who complete a Fly Fishing Challenge in 2018.

This month’s Fish-A-Long will be on the John Day River at Cottonwood Canyon State Park. The John Day is one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries west of the Mississippi. It is possible to catch 75 or more fish in a day; these fish average 8-12 inches.

It’s a very beautiful area to hike and explore. In the fall, the water is low and easily fished from the bank.

When- 8am Saturday September 23rd. Meet in Troutdale at a yet to be determined location and carpool to Cottonwood Canyon State Park. It’s about a 3hr drive from Troutdale.